Tormented
by RonsHorcrux
Summary: What if, in sixth year, when Ron started dating Lavender, Hermione started dating someone as well? What if, she was happy for Ron and Lavender? And what if, one of them lets go of their stubbornness to tell the other how they feel? Well, this is that story.
1. Chapter 1

_Revenge_

* * *

Ginny knew that Hermione was hurting. Hermione was pretty much her best friend; well at least, she was her brother's best friend. She knew Hermione was upset about the whole Lavender thing, especially from hearing what Harry had to say.

As an outsider looking in on this situation, Ginny could perceive clearly what others could not. All through this year Hermione and Ron had the most sexual tension she had ever seen them have. The sneaked glances while the other wasn't looking. The open mouthed stares that Ron did when Hermione was doing homework. The blush that rose to both of their faces when he was caught doing it. The wondrous look that Hermione gave Ron as he played Quidditch. The small compliments and confidence boosters that they each gave each other in times of need, or just to start conversations. How they would subconsciously lean toward the other while they were talking. To Ginny, this was all very plain. To Ron and Hermione however, it was not.

Ginny was bought out of her thoughts by the sound of Hermione's bed curtains being drawn open slightly. Two large brown, puffy eyes looked out at her and she could see the tearstains made on her cheeks. The eyes gave Ginny an imploring look and Ginny made her way over to the bed that was Hermione's. She sat down cross-legged and Hermione broke down again, sobbing so uncontrollably that Ginny had to cast a silencing charm around the bed. Hermione's form was shaking so hard and Ginny just moved closer and held her friend, stroking her hair and whispering comforting words.

"Get it all out tonight, Hermione. Tomorrow, I am going to help you get payback on Ron." Ginny said soothingly. A plan was already forming in her head and she couldn't wait to put it into action. An hour or two later, Hermione had finally calmed down enough and seemed that she had no more tears left. She had started to go into her angry phase.

"I mean, how many hints do I have to give him? I invited him to Slughorne's Christmas party for goodness sake! Do I have to spell it out for him?" she yelled.

"I doubt he'd be able to read it," muttered Ginny and Hermione laughed. "Can I tell you my plan, please?"

Hermione conceded and listened intently to what Ginny was about to say.

"Well," she started, "Ron obviously got with Lavender to make you jealous. Seeing as now he is being a foul git, you need your payback. I suggest the same advice that you gave to me to get over Harry. You need to start going out with other people. You need to dress a lot nicer than you have been, and you need to try and be genuinely happy for Ron about Lavender. He will then be so tormented that his plan didn't work that he will come running back in the hopes of you still waiting for him".

Hermione had to admit, it was a pretty good plan; and she couldn't exactly go saying it wasn't, especially seeing as this was the advice she gave to Ginny. 'Practice what you preach', she said to herself.

"Let's do it", she stated in a determined voice.

Hermione was well and truly ready to get over Ronald Weasley.

* * *

The next morning Hermione entered the Great Hall feeling unusually bright and happy. There was no weight in her chest that there had been last night, and most peculiar of all, no butterflies when she saw Ron shoveling food into his face like there was no tomorrow.

Hermione cautiously made her way over to the Gryffindor table and sat herself in between Harry and Ginny, which made her directly across from the red head she had fancied for years.

"Morning!" she said brightly.

Harry grunted in response, looking like he hadn't got much sleep last night. Ginny smiled with a mouth full of food and Ron looked flabbergasted. Some of his porridge fell out of his mouth, which was a quite unattractive look. He stared at her as if she had grown another head and Hermione started to eat.

"Ron, could you please pass the cream?" Hermione asked politely. He continued to stare at her dumbly and she was forced to reach across the table to get it herself. "Is something wrong? Have I got something on my face?" she questioned him. That seemed to break him out of his reverie and he cleared his throat.

"No, nothing."

"Excellent," she beamed and she turned to look around the hall. Just then, Ernie Macmillan wandered into through the large oak doors and headed towards the Hufflepuff table. "Just a minute, I need to go and talk to Ernie." Hermione stood up and left the table. Ron just dragged his eyes away long enough to see Ginny's suggestive waggling of her eyebrows. What was going on with Ernie and Hermione?

Ron started on his porridge again but more just pushed it around his plate with his gleaming spoon. He had got with Lavender to make Hermione jealous, and if Hermione was jealous, then she obviously liked him. But she wasn't jealous. That was what stung the most. That she hadn't in fact, fancied him back. He wondered what all those subtle hints were though. The burning sensation when his arm accidentally brushed onto hers. The blush that crept to her cheeks when he complimented her in a small way. Had he misinterpreted the signals? Surely not. He felt something for her and he was sure she had felt something for him.

Even now, watching her converse with Ernie Macmillan made his blood boil. It should be him she was talking to, not some stupid Hufflepuff. He could just make out Hermione saying a 'goodbye' and she started heading back towards her friends. Suddenly though, Ernie grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. He looked very nervous and flustered and Ron wished at this moment he could use a pair of Extendable Ears. Ernie now was staring resolutely at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing on the world.

It was when Hermione blushed furiously though, that Ron thought of the possibilities of what just happened. Did he just call her a genius? Did he comment on her hair? Did he ask her for help on his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay because he thought she was fantastic in the DA last year? No, because they were things only Ron said that made Hermione blush like that. So what did he say that made her cheeks hot around Ernie?

Ron saw red as Hermione leaned and embraced Ernie. For a moment, Ernie was stiff against her body, but that moment was short and he melted into her petite frame and hugged her back. Ron was gripping his spoon so hard that his knuckles were turning white. The embrace ended shortly after and Hermione gave a shy wave as she headed back towards the rest of her Gryffindor friends and Ernie headed back to Hufflepuff. Both were looking quite pleased with themselves and Ron couldn't help but notice the way he looked back over his shoulder to her retreating form when she was on her way back. Ron didn't know why it made him so angry, he had a girlfriend after all. A girlfriend, who was in fact, a lot prettier than Hermione.

_Don't say that. You know that's not true. Hermione's… perfect._

Ron didn't know where this thought had come from but he quickly pushed it to the back of his mind. At this moment, Lavender had to be perfect for him, and he wasn't going to let any bushy haired brunette get in the way of that.

She sat back down in a daze. She picked up a fork and started trying to eat her porridge with it. Ginny seemed to notice Hermione's change as well and addressed it immediately.

"What was that with Ernie?" she questioned.

"Hmm? What makes you think anything happened?" Hermione said in a way that reminded Ron of Luna. What did Ernie say that had Hermione so dazed? Ginny clicked her fingers in front of Hermione's face and Hermione looked like Hermione again. "Oh, sorry. Must have blanked out… Sorry, Gin." She looked confusedly at her fork and set it back onto the table and picked up her spoon again.

"That's fine! But what did Ernie say?" At this, Hermione's face blushed as red as the Weasley's trademark hair.

"Ohh, err – well, he kind of askedmetogotohogsmeadewithhi mnextweekend." She said, breathless. Ginny gave her a questioning look which obviously meant that she hadn't heard her. Hermione took a deep breath and started again.

"I first had to ask him about something in Potions and then he asked me if I would go to Hogsmeade with him next weekend."

She nodded, seemingly satisfied with her answer. Ron hadn't seen her blush this much in his life. What Ginny did next was unexpected. She lurched forward and seized Hermione into a bear hug.

"Oh I knew it, Hermione, I knew it! He has always had a little bit of a thing for you, I could just tell by the way he looks at you sometimes when you aren't noticing! Oh my goodness, but what did you say? Was that hug a hug of acceptance or to help with rejection?"

Ron couldn't help the words that escaped next. "Yes, Hermione," he managed through gritted teeth, "what did you say? After all, you had already told Harry and I that you would come with us to Hogsmeade."

"Well," Ron was preparing himself for the worst when Hermione started to speak, "of course I said yes! You are probably going to end up going around with Lavender, so why can't I go off with Ernie? He said he'd take me to Scrivenshaft's and that we could go and visit the Shrieking Shack! He told me that he is so into historical places! Oh and after that we are going to Madam Puddifoot's and Honeydukes!"

Ron thought that Hermione was rubbing it in his face just a little. In their third year, when Harry wasn't able to attend Hogsmeade, it has just been him and her. She insisted that they go to the Shrieking Shack because it was one of the most haunted areas in Britain. He hadn't wanted to go and had been bored the whole time. When Hermione had told them that Ernie thought it would be great, he couldn't help but wonder, if he paid attention all those years ago, would he get to be going with her now? And even Scrivenshafts! Every time they went into Hogsmeade she insisted on going in there and admiring their quills and different types of parchment. After the second time, Ron just let her go and said that he would wait for her in either Honeyduke's or Zonko's. He found looking at this utterly boring and couldn't see why Hermione had taken such a fascination to it. Now that he knew Ernie had, and that Hermione liked that about Ernie, he couldn't help but feel like he had missed giant hints that Hermione was trying to leave for him.

Hermione saw Ron's crestfallen face and knew that her and Ginny's plan had worked. She wondered if she was being too harsh on him, but those thoughts got pushed to the back of her mind when she realized that Ron had chosen Lavender, which meant he couldn't have liked her in the first place, and he was just disappointed that they weren't going to Hogsmeade as a trio, like usual. She could faintly hear Ginny rambling about how she was going to help Hermione pick out the perfect outfit and how to do her hair and makeup. But all Hermione seemed to notice was the gangly red-headed figure that had muttered a word of farewell and made his way out of the Great Hall.

Revenge was sweet, Hermione thought. And she engaged in a full discussion with Ginny about how perfect Hogsmeade was going to be with Ernie. However somewhere in the back of her mind, she couldn't help but ponder how it would turn out if it were with a certain red-headed Gryffindor.

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AN: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading my story! Not sure whether it is very good or not or whether to continue. I've had this idea for a while but not sure whether to keep going... Please review and let me know your feelings on it! More chapters should be coming up soon and only your reviews will tell me where to go in this story and whether or not to continue with it!

Thanks again and read on!


	2. Chapter 2

**Jealousy**

* * *

Hermione scuttled around to her first class of the day. She was thankful that she hadn't had to encounter too much of Ron in the first few hours of the day, but she wasn't sure how she would go seeing him with _her _all snuggly. Sure, she had Ernie and he was great but she didn't have many classes with him. The majority was with Ron.

She stepped into Greenhouse 5 and waited for everyone else, including Professor Sprout, to arrive. She opened up her current book that Madam Pince had reluctantly handed over to her. She was surprised at this, but then thought that Mr Filch may have been the reason that Madam Pince had it in the first place. This wasn't one of her usual course books, nor anything remotely related to school whatsoever. This was a book that Ginny had forced her to lend out. It's cover was faded and fraying slightly from the many hands that had held it before hers. Some of the pages were crumpled and ripped, and some of the words were slightly blotchy due to large tear marks that had long ago fallen onto the pages.

The title however, was clearly visible, which made Hermione a bit embarrassed as everyone could tell what she was reading. It read "12 Fail Safe Ways to Get Over a Wizard". When she had looked through the shelves in the library, she had seen that these books were a kind of series. There were loads of them all for different situations. 12 Fail Safe Ways to Charm a Wizard, 12 Fail Safe Ways to Charm a Witch, 12 Fail Safe Ways to Ask a Witch on a Date, 12 Fail Safe Ways to Get Over a Wizard. There were plenty and it seemed the one she was reading now had been used the most, by girls at least.

She had finished chapter 1, last night, it was very useful. 'Cry out all emotion regarding the Wizard'. She had certainly done that, and was now onto the second chapter. Only a few lines in and she was disturbed by a pot falling and smashing onto the ground. Ron stumbled in with Lavender wrapped around him, apparently eating his face off. He took out his wand and muttered a 'reparo' charm and the pot fixed itself up.

Hermione was so surprised that her eyes were dry. She touched them just to make sure, but there was not a single tear in sight. In fact, when she looked at him snogging her senseless, she felt a surge of uneasiness and awkwardness. Like she was intruding on a private moment. What she did next surprised herself even more.

"Hey Ron, hey Lavender".

They broke apart, searching the greenhouse for whoever had spoke to them. They breathed heavily, obviously not gaining much oxygen while their lips were seemingly in a constant lock. Lavender's eyes found Hermione first and she started to drag Ron over to where she was sitting.

"Hello, Hermione. What are you doing here so early?" she asked politely.

"Oh, just wanting to get out of the cold and do some reading," replied Hermione with a smile.

"Who have you been snogging?" blurted Lavender. "I mean, I don't wish to be rude, but have you snogged someone this morning Hermione. Your lips look plumper than usual and a lot redder, and your hair looks a lot wilder than it did at breakfast."

Ron snapped his head into Hermione's direction, he had previously avoided looking anywhere but at her. As if on queue, his eyes wandered over to her lips and they widened slightly. His gaze then raked over her hair and he seemed a bit put out and upset. Hermione wasn't sure, but she thought she saw another flicker of emotion go through his eyes – was that jealousy?

In all truth, Hermione's lips had been red from the cold outside, add that to the lip bite she does when she is reading a particularly hard book to fathom, that is how her lips got that way. Hermione hadn't actually had time to do her hair this morning before she bolted down for breakfast and on her way to Herbology, the wind had made it an outright mess. But why would she tell Ron and Lavender this? What was the title of chapter two on 12 Fail Safe ways to Get Over a wizard? _Show him indirectly that you are over him. _What would be the harm in a little white lie?

"Oh, _that. _Well, you see there might have been a little bit of…" Hermione began, biting her lip. She was trying to think of a way to infer that she had snogged, but not say it outright. "Harry", she said, finding the familiar raven-haired boy standing just on the door of the greenhouse. She tore her gaze away and quickly excused herself from the couple. He still had that blasted Half Blood Prince book in his hand and he nearly tripped over a root making his way into the door.

She made her way over to Harry to scold him yet again about his obsession with the Prince's book but not before she caught the look on Ron and Lavender's faces. Ron looked like he would knock out the next person that came across him and Lavender had a confused but thoughtful expression on her face.

They made their way over to the back table and discussed what happened a few moments earlier.

"Hermione? Snogging? I can't believe it! She didn't exactly say, but she didn't exactly deny it either. What do you think Won-Won?" exclaimed Lavender.

"I'm not sure, Lav" he began. "It's not really like Hermione…"

"I know, you're right. But she did hug that Hufflepuff guy earlier this morning. Maybe there is something going on between them. Why she would choose a Hufflepuff though is beyond me. I mean, for her, what about a Ravenclaw, they're suppose to be smart. She would fit right in with one of them. She wouldn't date a Slytherin, because usually they just date amongst themselves…" Lavender blabbered on. Ron hadn't heard her say anything about a Gryffindor though and asked her. "What about a Gryffindor?"

Lavender scoffed. "Hermione? Date a Gryffindor? She doesn't deserve someone brave! She wouldn't be up there with him. She doesn't suit a Gryffindor I don't think. Well apart from Harry. They've been through a lot over the years, with you of course Won-Won, but she hasn't done that much to contribute really, I wouldn't be surprised if her and Harry ended up going out. Or at least a bit of snogging. But I don't know how he hasn't got tired of her yet."

Lavender continued to babble on about nonsense all to do with Hermione but Ron had long ago tuned out.

_Hermione, not good enough for a Gryffindor? But I am a Gryffindor. Hermione and Harry? But no… they couldn't, could they? Yes, they have been friends for a while. But so have me and Hermione. Would he really try something like that on her? _

Looking at Harry and Hermione conversing now, Ron couldn't help the jealousy that started to boil in the pit of his stomach. Hermione's laughter erupted and she was clutching at her stomach for breath at what Harry had just said. He too was smiling and laughing and he reached out to grab her as she nearly fell of her seat.

_Stay, Ron, stay. You are with your _girlfriend. _You can talk to your friends later. Right now, you just want to stay with your _girlfriend _while you watch your best friends having a good time. _

Ron was utterly confused. He was using Lavender as a 'bounce back', and a jealousy tool of sorts. He wanted to show Hermione and Ginny that he could find someone that wanted him and wanted to snog him as well. It wasn't just them that got to have all the fun. Ginny had inferred for years now that there was something going on between Hermione and him but he never really believed it. Since the Yule Ball, he wasn't sure if he had fancied her or not and his feelings had contradicted themselves for a while. 'I'm just trying to protect her, but she does look awfully attractive in that dress', was one thing that he wasn't sure what it meant.

He continued to ponder this all throughout Herbology and was slightly confused to feel Lavender tugging on his arm only to realize that half of the class had already left the greenhouse. Maybe he could ask Hermione later for her notes.

The next class Ron had though, he had been dreading. Potions. Not only did he have a teacher that did not know his name, Harry obsessing over the Prince's book and being completely rubbish at potions, he now also had to deal with Ernie. This was going to be an interesting lesson.

* * *

**AN: What did you think?**

**Now just to clarify some things. One review from a guest. Firstly, Hermione isn't doing all the things for Ernie that she didn't for Ron. She did these things for Ron but he never took and interest and she stopped trying with him. Also, she never pitied Ron, she genuinely did like him but her feelings got a bit crushed when he started dating Lavender. Next, Ron didn't go out with Lavender because Hermione treated him badly, he did it because he was angry about her kissing Krum. She did show appreciation to him and he thought, especially this year that he had a chance. Hermione never dated any other boy and she always cared for him. She only wants to go out with Ernie to get over Ron. They are still friends so I don't understand how that is cutting ties? Ron is only using Lavender as a bounce back so I don't think he would be being pushed towards her. **

**Wow, sorry for that but I just had to clarify that. Hopefully that is everything!**

**THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR WONDERFUL REVIEWS! They have really pushed me to write more and I think each and every one of you. More reviews would be welcomed and thank you all for reading! Any more ideas for the next chapter? **

**Read on! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

* * *

**Annoyance**

Hermione sped off after Herbology with Harry who still had his head in that stupid cheat book of the Half Blood Princes. She was tugging him along down towards the dungeons. The only good thing about going down there now was that there was no Snape waiting for you.

Hermione was looking forward to Potions because, 1) she was good at it, even though Harry may have the upper hand at this stage, 2) there was no Lavender to sit as close to Ron as possible without sitting on top of him and 3) Ernie was in this class AND he already sat with her, Harry and Ron. Could it get any better?

Her and Harry were some of the first ones in class, apart from some disturbing looking Slytherins, including Malfoy.

"Oh look its Scarhead and the Mudblood. Looking all cosy, don't you both?" he sniggered, while Pansy Parkinson howled with laughter. "Oh, I bet you love the Mudblood, Potter. Does she remind you of your mum? She was a filthy Mudblood as well…"

Suddenly, a voice from the door started to speak. It was calm however very cold and menacing. "Don't you dare call Hermione a Mudblood again. And leave Harry alone. They haven't done anything to you. Apart from give you a bit of a nose job, if I remember correctly."

Malfoy grunted under his breath and started talking about Harry and Hermione in hushed voices once he was back at the Slytherin table. Both Harry and Hermione whirled around to see who had made Malfoy back off. They were both surprised to see who stood before them. It was Ernie.

Hermione hurried over to him and jumped into his arms, close to tears. Harry made his way over to their shared table and pulled out chairs for everyone. Hermione leaned back in Ernie's arms to admire his face and thank him.

"Thank you so much. That really meant a lot." He smiled and was about to reply but she leant forward and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. Nothing more seeing as they were about to have a class. As she did this however, she was a tuft of red hair float through the door way and knew it could only be Ron. She grabbed Ernie's hand and they made their way over to their shared table, closely tailing Ron.

They sat down in their usual spots which was Hermione next to Ron on one side, facing Harry and Ernie on the other. Figuring this was not the way she wanted to sit considering her and Ernie were kind of a 'couple' she quickly decided to straighten this out. Before she could however, Harry had begun a discussion.

"Thanks for that, mate. Don't know what I would have done if you didn't come in. He just gets on my nerves a lot lately. Thanks again." Harry took Ernie's hand and gave it a firm shake. Harry then got up and gestured to Hermione to sway, which they eagerly did. Ron watched Hermione get up and make her way around the other side of the table, a wistful expression on his face.

"That's no problem, Harry. I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't bothering either of you. I've kind of been wanting to say something for a while, just didn't want to arouse any suspicion", Ernie replied, with a wink in Hermione's direction.

"What exactly are we all thanking you for?" asked a suddenly curious Ron.

"Oh," Hermione looked at Ernie like he was a hero and continued, "Ernie stood up for Harry and I when he was insulting me and Harry's mum. He was using the 'M' word… He was really quite brilliant."

Ron was about to retort when Professor Slughorn entered the room and asked them to take out their books. Ron was positively fuming.

_How come Ernie just marches in and becomes the hero? I've been defending Hermione since second year with that word and Harry even earlier! Do they just forget about me now that there is a great looking Hufflepuff over here? Do they even know how much I do for them? And how much time I spend with them? _

Ron thought about these questions though and realized he was Ron. They always thanked him for what he did, even if it didn't seem very heartfelt. He also knew that as of late, he hadn't been spending much time with them because of his squid of a 'girlfriend' who would not stop snogging him. He could feel his face and ears start to heat up with anger but he couldn't help it.

"Ron, are you alright? You look a bit flushed…" inquired Hermione, genuinely sincere.

Ron grunted a response and Hermione looked a little hurt. She was only trying to help after all. So instead, she turned back to Ernie and he let his hand drop onto her thigh, making circles around it with his finger. Hermione gave a slight shudder that someone would only noticed if they had known Hermione for a long time, or had been studying her intently. Both of which, Ron had.

He didn't feel anger anymore. Even when he saw Hermione kiss Ernie on the cheek it wasn't anger. There wasn't any room for anger amongst what he was feeling. He realized what was finally consuming him from the inside. It was a mixture of sadness and hurt. He felt a stab of sadness as he realized that he could be the one sitting next to Hermione and giving her kisses on the cheek. Hell, he could even be her boyfriend if he hadn't been so hell bent on getting back at her for Krum. He didn't even like Lavender but didn't want to dump her, especially after seeing Hermione so happy with Ernie.

Ron felt like a great surge of ice had grown up inside and stabbed its way into his heart. In situations like these, he had to think of the good in the situation. Hermione had been happy for him with Lavender, so he should be happy with her and Ernie. He still had her as a best friend and could see her in the Gryffindor common room whereas Ernie couldn't. But then again, he wouldn't get much time to see her seeing as he was within Lavender's clutches all the time. He continued to think all of this over and didn't notice a pair of eyes on him the whole time.

Harry had grown up with only two people he had ever loved in his life. Hermione and Ron. Now, it happened that his two best friends were in fact in love. He had been watching Ron look at Hermione throughout all of Potions. Harry knew he must be really upset. Even Harry, who was completely rubbish at all of this could see how much the two fancied each other. As Harry watched his ginger friend, he could see the sadness clearly depicted on his face. Sometimes, his best friends were both too stubborn for their own good. Harry knew that tonight, whenever he could get Ron alone, he was going to have a long conversation with him. Even though he may be rubbish, he should at least try to help his best friend with this one thing. He had to start repaying the debt he owed to both of them.

* * *

**AN: What is Harry going to say to Ron? A bit long winded, I'm sorry! It's also taken me a while to update, what with Christmas and New Years and I know that's not an excuse but I'm still sorry! Please let me know what you think of this chapter! Reviews are always welcome and often help me update quicker on my stories! Thank you so much! Hope you are enjoying and maybe you could check out my one shot called "The Kiss that Led to the Win"? Thanks again! **

**Read on! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Regrets**

* * *

It was finally time for dinner. Ron's favorite part of the day. Where all he needed to focus on was food. Food had never done anything to Ron. In fact, at the moment, it would probably help him through his troubles. Tonight, he planned on focusing on food. That was until Harry stopped him outside the hall where all the Shepherds pie he could dream of was waiting for him.

"Hey mate. Are you alright?" asked the raven haired boy.

"Yeah, of course. Today was just fantastic. Why wouldn't I be fine?" replied Ron, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"Well I was kind of hoping to talk to you about something-"

Harry's sentence got cut short as both of the boys head snapped to hear a noise that nearly never hear. Hermione giggling. A full on, girlish giggle that had been made by none other than Hermione Granger. They swirled around and saw her walking down the steps. She had her arm looped through Ernie's and a dazzling smile lit up her face. Ernie was smiling also but just staring with a look of adoration at her. Hermione glanced down and noticed Ron and Harry. She turned to Ernie and he nodded. They had finally made it to the doors of the Great Hall, just where Ron and Harry were standing. Hermione untangled her arm from Ernie's and instead of letting it go immediately, Ernie held onto it. He then gently kissed the back of her hand lightly and bid her farewell.

Hermione was positively beaming. She slowly dawdled over to where Harry and Ron were standing. Her cheeks were tinted pink and there was an awkward tension in the air, that Hermione thankfully broke. "Hot, isn't it?" she breathed, fanning herself with her hand. It was not seasonally warm, and as she said this, a cool breeze picked up that they all felt.

"I guess you could say it is a bit," replied Harry, "especially being all cozy with a certain good looking Hufflepuff." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Hermione playfully swatted his arm. The trio made their way into the Great Hall.

"Hogsmeade tomorrow," noted Hermione.

Ron grunted in response and she gave him a quizzical look. He shot her a dirty glare and she abruptly pushed out her chair and sadly walked out of the hall.

"Ron, you need to stop that. Hermione is your friend. Why are you treating her like a stranger?" Harry asked as soon as Hermione was out of earshot. "Please, just tell me what's wrong."

"Our next Quidditch game is against Hufflepuff. She's fraternizing with the enemy. He's probably using her to find out our tactics," Ron grumbled.

"Do you realize how barmy you sound right now? Merlin, Ron! Hermione has no interest in Quidditch whatsoever and the only reason you would be able to get her onto the pitch is to watch me, you or Ginny play. Don't go on about 'fraternizing with the enemy'. She's finally found someone who likes her for her. He's nice, loyal, smart, funny. And he really, really likes Hermione. You have Lavender and now Hermione has Ernie. Why can't you be happy for her for once, Ron? Why?"

Ron pondered this. Yes, he did have Lavender. Even though that would only last a short while, considering he knew nothing about her. And Harry was right about Ernie. He was nice, loyal smart and funny. Was Ron those things? Hermione has told him numerous times that he was, but being the self depreciating person he was, never listened. When he did this, she huffed and would just stop telling him. He wasn't going to tell Harry that he was jealous- no, Ron was not jealous. That's not how it worked. Especially seeing as he was the one who had thought of the plan to make Hermione jealous.

"I don't know Harry. He just, doesn't seem like Hermione's type…" Ron mumbled.

"That's what you said about Viktor and that's probably what you will say about every boy that comes into her life. She is happy, Ron. If you haven't noticed. She is now always smiling and is finally letting go a bit. Just try, at least, to be happy for her. "

With that, Harry walked away and left Ron to his thoughts. He continued to think about Hermione, Ernie and Lavender and this big triangle that he had got himself caught up in. He was torn from this thoughts though as a clingy blonde came up and dragged him into an empty classroom. The whole time Lavender was snogging Ron, all he could imagine was pulling back and staring into Hermione's brown eyes. Lavender had brown eyes too, which made it much harder to differentiate between his desire and reality.

He was caught up thinking about how he thought he was jealous of Hermione and Ernie. Why would he have any reason to be jealous? He had Lavender. He was just feeling the need to protect her, that was it. But he had only ever felt this feeling once in his life. That was when he was watching his Hermione dance with that Bulgarian brat, Viktor Krum.

Ron pulled away from Lavender suddenly and just stared at her. Realization dawned on him. He was jealous of Hermione and Ernie. There was no way he could deny it. He was so angry that he was jealous. Why did everything with Hermione have to have him so angry or with too many feelings to comprehend?

Ron bent down and kissed Lavender with so much intensity he thought he would snog her brains out. He poured all of the emotion that was building in the pit of his stomach into the kiss he was sharing with Lavender.

He only wished though, that it was with Hermione.

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AN: I'm so sorry. This is a terrible chapter. I couldn't think of anything to do with it. Please don't kill me! I also find it a bit more fun writing from Ron's point of view I think. Next chapter will be Hogsmeade! I have no idea what to do there. *sigh* I love all the reviews that I am getting and I want to thank all of you who have reviewed! **I'm not going to update until I get 23 reviews though because I just don't have enough inspiration.** If I don't get 23 though, don't fret. I will post but it wont be super soon because I have nothing to write about. Thanks again and constructive criticism would be fantastic.

Read on J


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: JK Rowling owns everything, I am just her minion trying to imitate how amazing she actually is. **

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**Chapter 5**

**Relief**

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Hermione awoke very excited. Today was Hogsmeade day! She hurried out of bed and padded her way to the prefects bathroom. Usually she would just use the bathroom in the girls dormitories but today, it was early and she didn't want to wake anyone. This was her excuse if anyone found her, but her real reason was that she didn't want to be stuck in the bathroom with Lavender droning on about her upcoming day with Ron. Although Hermione had lessened her feelings and attractions for Ron, she still felt uneasy when she had to hear… intimate details of Lavender's and 'Won Won's' tales.

Hermione finally made her way to the Fifth floor where the prefects bathroom was waiting for her. At this time of the morning, there shouldn't be anyone in there and she was relieved when their wasn't. She put her clothing and toiletries bag onto the bench, only taking out some shampoo, conditioner, soap and her toothbrush. She went into a stall to change into her dressing robe. She came back out with the clump of pyjamas and put them next to her other clothes.

She made her way into one of the shower cubicles and gently turned on the taps. The warm water soaked her skin and she allowed her muscles to relax. All the apprehension and worry she had been feeling about Hogsmeade day was quickly washing away with the water.

Assured that she was alone, the bushy haired girl started to sing to the rhythmic lapping of the water.

_"I've got my ticket for long way 'round_

_Two bottles of whiskey for the way_

_And I sure would like some sweet company_

_and I'm leaving tomorrow, whatdya say?"_

Hermione had started singing and lathering her hair with SlikEazy shampoo, another figure had crept into the bathroom, unnoticed.

_"When I'm gone, when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me by my hair_

_You're gonna miss me everywhere_

_And I know you're gonna miss me when I'm gone"_

Hermione was enjoying her singing and so was the new entrant into the prefects bathroom. He was enjoying himself nearly as much as Hermione, if not more. As Hermione started to condition her hair, she made her way still through the song.

_"I've got my ticket for the long way 'round_

_The one with the prettiest view_

_It's got mountains, it's got rivers_

_It's got sights to give you shivers_

_But it sure would be prettier with you"_

The boy who had entered the prefects bathroom was now in awe. He had never known that Hermione had a voice like that. She was in perfect pitch and just sounded like an angel. He made his way over to sit down on the bench and accidentally knocked over her toiletries bag, making the contents clatter to the ground loudly. The singing abruptly stopped and a head looked out through the shower cubicle door and sighed, looking at the spilled contents of her toiletries. The boy quickly pushed himself against the wall, just behind the corner that blocked him from view as she popped her head back into the shower. She finished her song quickly after that and the boy kept pondering the lyrics.

_"When I'm gone, when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me by my hair_

_You're gonna miss me everywhere_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

_When I'm gone, when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone_

_You're gonna miss me by my walk_

_You're gonna miss me by my talk_

_You're gonna miss me when I'm gone"_

Hermione sighed and turned off the steaming water. Satisfied that her hair was now semi-presentable, she dried herself off and walked out of the shower cubicle. Suddenly, there was a round of applause from the boy Hermione never knew was in there and Hermione lost her footing and fell onto the hard floor of the bathroom.

"Ouch," she said gingerly, touching the back of her head.

The boy suddenly swooped in and helped her up but not before gawking at how much skin she was currently showing, only being covered by a towel. He never knew Hermione could be so tanned!

"I wasn't expecting to see you here…" she mumbled, although took his hand gratefully. Once she was steady, he replied.

"Oh, I was just coming for a shower and I heard this amazing singing and I couldn't help but just listen to it and wait for the amazing voice to come out. And who would have known that Hermione Granger could have such an amazing singing voice?"

Hermione blushed scarlet and muttered a word of thanks before bending down and trying to collect all of her currently spilt toiletries. The figure bent down to help and gathered most of he things into a pile. The boy suddenly found a piece of paper and disregarding all etiquette, looked at it. What he saw really shocked him.

There in his hand was a picture of Hermione Granger, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, all in Gryffindor robes on Platform 9¾ before they went home for holidays at the end of first year. They were laughing and Hermione, being in the middle, put her arms around Harry and Ron. Ron was momentarily shocked although joined back in laughing with the both of them. Why had she carried this around? Especially seeing as she was dating Ernie? Should she not carry a picture of him around? Still, it touched this figure to see how much Hermione truly valued friendship. He quickly shoved the picture back into her toiletries bag.

Hermione made an effort to try and make a conversation but her face was still glowing red after the compliments he had previously given her. She ran into the changing cubicle and chucked on her clothes. She came back out and addressed him in a forced tone of casualness, obviously it was embarrassing having someone see you only towel clad.

"Um, well, I guess I'll see you in Hogsmeade."

"Yeah, okay. Meet at the prearranged place?" asked the figure.

"Sure, Ron. See you there." she replied.

Ron then hopped into the shower and his thoughts turned back to Hermione's song. He somehow felt that they had been a direct jab at him, but he couldn't help but recount the words and realize their relevance.

"You're going to miss me when I'm gone," he muttered. That he would. If Hermione ever left, he would certainly miss her. He also thought about how in the song, the singer seemed to be inviting the person she was singing to come with her. '_You're going to miss me by my hair…' _Hermione's hair was her most defining feature. Was she thinking of leaving him for Ernie? Was she thinking of leaving him to go with Harry on adventures by themselves?

Ron was thinking hard as he turned off the shower and prepared to go into Hogsmeade. He needed to break up with Lavender as soon as possible, because there was no way he was losing Hermione. To anyone.

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AN: Hello my wonderful readers! Massive, massive shoutout must go to **FelixLiquidLuckFelicis** who inspired me to write this chapter! Now I know that it was meant to be Hogsmeade, but it was aiming to make it longer, and what I'm planning for Hogsmeade, we have to first hear his thoughts going into it.

Also, THANKS FOR THE 25 REVIEWS! I'M SO EXCITED YOU HAVE NO IDEA! Thanks to every single person who reviewed, they made me all sooo happy!

Please leave any other comments, questions, advice or just support in the review section or shoot me a private message!

Thanks to everyone and love you all! Read on J


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Sly**

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Ron made his way back to the Common Room, mentally preparing himself on how to get rid of Lavender, albeit gently. He could go with the whole, "it's not you, its me" thing, or "It's been great but I'm just not ready for a relationship", or even the "I'm in love with someone else". The latter option was 100% true and he didn't want to lie to Lavender. But what if she asked him who this mysterious girl was? What was he meant to say?

He couldn't just tell her the truth. After all, she was Hermione's dorm mate and it would be leaked around the school quicker than a golden snitch. And he definitely was not ready to let her know yet. He plonked down onto the couch that he and Hermione occupied and it wasn't long before he heard the shrill squeals of his nearly ex-girlfriend.

"WON-WON," she said in a sing song voice "ARE YOU READY FOR OUR DAY?"She came and sat on his lap and before he knew what he was doing she had smacked her lips to his and was snogging him ferociously. _Summon up your courage, Weasley, _Ron thought to himself. He swiftly detangled himself from her and sat he down beside him. She pouted and frowned. "What's wrong, Won-Won?" she asked.

"Look Lav, you're a really great girl but I just don't think this is working. I've really enjoyed what we've had, don't get me wrong, its just, I'm not able to commit myself fully to this relationship," Ron replied gently.

"Won-Won, don't be silly," she pounced onto him again and he pushed her back.

"No, Lavender, its really over. I'm sorry. There's someone else, and I don't want to lead you on. It would be better if we saw different people."

"IT'S BECAUSE OF HER, ISNT IT?" she screeched, most likely waking up all of the sleeping occupants of Gryffindor tower.

"Who?"

"HERMIONE, OF COURSE! SHE'S DATING ERNIE, WON-WON! SHE WOULD NEVER HAVE YOU ANYWAY. YOU'RE TOO GOOD FOR HER."

"Lavender, don't. If anything, Hermione is too good for me. Don't you dare talk about her like that. She is still my friend. I don't care if she's dating Ernie! But Hermione isn't the reason why I'm breaking up with you… its complicated"

Just then, Lavender broke down into tears. Ron had not planned for this. Girls and emotions were not two of his strongest points. He knelt down and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "Lav, I'm really sorry. But I also wanted to break up with you because Seamus really likes you and I can tell that he is annoyed that I'm dating you. Again, I'm sorry but this is the way it has to be."

He got up off the common room floor and trudged back up to the dormitories to get ready to go to Hogsmeade.

Ron dressed along with Harry and his thoughts kept swinging back to Hermione. How was he going to say anything to her? She had him spellbound. He could barely form coherent sentences around her when he wanted to tell her how he felt. He would just have to man up and get it over with, and if she still chose that stupid Hufflepuff, Ernie, then he couldn't say he didn't try. He quickly thought of something that would come in handy.

"Hey Harry, would you er- would you mind if I borrowed your invisibilty cloak for the day?" Ron asked timidly.

"May I ask why?" Harry replied.

"Oh, err- I just needed it, to help me do something," Ron shot back.

"Okay mate, just don't lose it. And please, whatever you do, don't hurt Hermione." He tossed the invisbilty cloak to Ron who caught it somewhat gracefully.

Harry left moments later to meet Ginny in the common room where they would set off for Hogsmeade together. Ron meandered down to the Great Hall where he wolfed down his food and went to meet Hermione at the prearranged spot where they always met.

His feet were cold with snow and he couldn't help but pull his coat around him tightly. Although he was already cold, the scene that he saw playing out in front of him froze him to the core.

Hermione was standing on her tiptoes, her arms draped around Ernie's neck while his fingers moved up her waist and around to trace patterns on her back. They were kissing, no snogging more like and her hand moved up from her neck to his hair where they got tangled. If you could hear a heart shatter into a million pieces at that moment, it would be Ron's. That should be him, not Ernie. He felt the tears prickle his eyes but he would not let them fall. Had Hermione felt this way when he had been with Lavender? Is that why she would mysteriously disappear when they started snogging? Did she, in fact, in some way, fancy Ron they way he fancied her?

_No, don't get your hopes up, _Ron's mind chastised him. He blinked back the moisture in his eyes and cleared his throat loudly. The pair sprung apart like hot water had been poured on top of them. Hermione's face turned as red as a ripe tomato, as she turned and looked between both of the boys. She cleared her throat and addressed Ron.

"Hey Ron, " she exclaimed.

"Hi," he replied icily. Hermione was taken aback by his tone and now diverted her attention to Ernie.

"Hey Ern, um, I actually invited Ron to hang out with us today. He wont come to the Shrieking Shack though because he is meant to be meeting Lavender."

"That's not a problem, Hermione! Any friend of yours is a friend of mine!" cried Ernie, holding out a friendly hand to Ron. When he didn't take it, he brought it back up to rub his neck awkwardly, hoping to avoid some tension. How could he exclaim that he and Ron were friends? They were nothing of the sort. Just mutual acquaintances of an amazing girl, thought Ron.

"Well, where did you want to go first?" Hermione asked, lightening the mood.

"I was actually hoping we could duck into Scrivenshafts," responded Ernie, looking sheepish, "I needed some new quills…"

"Of course! I love browsing in there anyway! Let's go!"

Hermione grabbed Ernie's hand and interlaced her fingers with his. They started off down the main road of Hogsmeade, Ron trailing sullenly behind them. Suddenly, Hermione turned around and addressed Ron.

"Oh! I completely forgot! You hate Scrivenshafts. Why don't you go into Zonko's or Honeydukes while we have a look?" she said with a smile.

"Oh, no, I'd like to come actually. I have been needing some new quills," Ron reassured her.

Hermione gave him a confused look but still continued on and entered the quill shop. Ron pretend to browse however was to intent on watching Hermione browse to actually browse. This confused him and he tried to actually focus on browsing.

Ron ended up trailing around after the happy couple all day long, which made him utterly upset. They were finally about to part ways and Ron couldn't be gladder. But a part of Ron needed to see what they would do when he left them. Thank goodness for the invisibilty cloak. He travelled the long way around to the Shrieking Shack and bushwhacked some of his path to the spot. By the time he had got there, Hermione and Ernie were already sitting there.

Hermione was on Ernie's lap and he looked down at her adoringly. He leaned in and placed a sweet kiss on her lips. She made a noise sounding like a squeak and jumped in his lap slightly but recovered quickly and kissed him back with enthusiasm. To Ron, watching this show of affection had his heart breaking over and over a million times.

He grabbed a handful of snow and made it into a ball, he could not contain his anger. He launched the snowball and it hit the pair right in the middle and they sprang apart.

Suddenly, another person came around to the Shrieking Shack. It was Susan Bones. She bounded up to Ernie and kissed him full on the mouth. "There's my favourite boyfriend! Why didn't you meet me at the right place, like you said you would?" she cooed.

Ron's jaw dropped to the ground at the scene the was unfolding before him. Hermione looked like she had been slapped and immediately retreated, even with Ernie pushing Susan away and storming after her. Ron quickly darted around the rock he was stationed behind and dashed after Ernie and Hermione.

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AN: Thanks for reading! I was planning on making this a lot longer but I decided to cut it off there! Already have the next chapter written but planning on changing it, especially with regards to what your reviews say! Thanks again for reading! :)


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